Chapter 3: The Emperor and His Ministers Have Already Met with the Current Time (3)

The small courtyard where Luo Xiuyuan lived was only barely tidy up with a room and a small kitchen. The cobblestone path was overgrown with weeds, and only the mossy stone road surface could be seen in the shadows.

Shen Minghuan passed by above, his clothes brushing against the grass leaves, rustling.

Luo Xiuyuan sat at the head of the bed and looked out through the window, and saw that the man had a sparse face, but the folding fan in his hand was dancing quickly, revealing a silent disdain.

Luo Xiuyuan was stunned, and then laughed dumbly.

He was a little dazed for a while, as if he had returned to the past, and the two of them were still close friends of life and death.

——It was just because this unspoken disdain was too extravagant, and it was still accompanied by the intimacy that only friends were entitled to enjoy.

But he didn't lose his mind for too long, and soon reacted.

No, that person was not only his close friend Shen Minghuan, but also the supporter of the second prince, the head of the Shen family, Shen Che, who was talented and strategic.

What separated them was not only their political stance, but also the huge gap between their different ideals.

Luo Xiuyuan suddenly recalled the time before he met the emperor three days ago.

His father was able to win the battle for the throne and ascend the throne so smoothly, which was inseparable from the support of his mother's family.

His mother loved the emperor, who was still a prince at the time, so much that she rushed into the deep palace regardless of everything. His grandfather was very pitiful to his daughter. Seeing that he could not change Gu Chengyi's mind, he asked Luo Dan to swear that the Gu family was willing to support him with all his strength, on the premise that after he ascended the throne, he would make Gu Chengyi the queen, and the prince could only be Gu Chengyi's child.

Although Luo Dan was arbitrary, strong and tyrannical, he valued face, which was also a promise on another level.

Unless Luo Xiuyuan committed a serious crime such as treason and rebellion, he would always be the prince of the Qi Dynasty, and then ascend the throne to become the emperor smoothly with the support of his uncle.

But three days ago, Luo Xiuyuan used this promise to exchange his willingness to give up the position of Crown Prince for the Emperor's pardon of Zhuo Feichen.

Shen Minghuan was the first and only person who knew that he had made this decision.

Before that day, Luo Xiuyuan had never seen his best friend in such a panic.

At that time, Shen Minghuan came in a hurry, with his hair slightly messy and a little embarrassed, but the young master, who always had high requirements for his manners, did not care at all. He grabbed Luo Xiuyuan's wrist and pleaded, "Your Highness, think of another way. Wait a little longer. I will definitely think of one."

Luo Xiuyuan just looked at him sadly, "But Minghuan, we don't have time. It's too late."

"Luo Xiuyuan! Why can't you tell the difference between the priorities?" Shen Minghuan pushed him away and shouted angrily, "Do you know what the position of the crown prince means? Do you know how important this promise is to us!"

The whole world knows that the emperor doesn't like the crown prince. Without this promise, even if Luo Xiuyuan performs well, he is doomed to have no chance of the throne.

Luo Xiuyuan tried to explain, "Minghuan, I made this decision because I know the priorities. I can still find a way to get the crown prince later, but General Zhuo can't wait. ... Besides, the Shen family is loyal to each other, and Minghuan you are a great talent. Even without me, my father..."

"Are you determined to do this?" Shen Minghuan just interrupted him coldly.

Luo Xiuyuan looked at his eyes flashing with anger and sighed, "Yes."

"No possibility of change?"

"Yes."

*

Prince Rui's Mansion.

After the second prince turned sixteen, he was granted the title of prince and left the palace to build a mansion. Originally, he should have been ordered to go to his fiefdom and was not allowed to enter the capital without an imperial edict, but the emperor took pity on his young age and allowed him to stay in Yanling, the capital, temporarily.

This stay lasted for four years.

Earlier, there were civil officials who wrote to request to send Prince Rui to his fiefdom, but the emperor rejected it sternly and gave him a few strokes, and then nothing happened.

If the deposed prince was a child who was not favored by the emperor, then the second prince was just the opposite.

The emperor's preference for him was obvious to all, and he enjoyed a completely different treatment from Luo Xiuyuan.

The current emperor was a tyrant to his subjects, but a kind father to him.

"Your Highness." Lu Ren, the confidant of the Second Prince, reported: "Shen Che drove to the Lingwang Mansion this morning. Your Highness, you must be careful. In my opinion, this man is not an honest person."

Maybe he is in Cao's camp but his heart is with Han, or maybe he is here as an undercover agent.

"I didn't believe him at first, but..." Luo Xiuqi snorted lightly, forcibly suppressing the joy that spread in his heart.

There is no way, who makes him happy when he thinks about this matter.

"It's just that my omnipotent elder brother, the best friend and talent he always talks about, is now only doing this kind of work for me. Don't you think this is very interesting?"

Lu Ren hurriedly flattered: "Your Highness is far-sighted, but I am the one who talks too much."

"I know your loyalty." Luo Xiuqi's expression was sinister, "Shen Che... Since he dared to surrender, I dared to use him. The Shen family is also a very good chess piece."

To be fair, the Shen family is indeed not a small role. Although no one is an official in the court, it can still influence many literati.

Mr. Shen, Shen Changqing, has disciples all over the world. The key is that those people strangely attach great importance to this master-disciple relationship.

In addition to the connections accumulated over the years, among the civil and military officials in the court, most of them either have a history with the Shen family or owe them a favor.

Luo Xiuqi's expression became more and more obscure.

Unfortunately, he was unwilling to be used by him.

What's so good about his stupid eldest brother? However, he was born only one month earlier than him, and all eyes were on him, while no one cared about him.

From childhood to adulthood, no matter what Luo Xiuyuan did, he could attract praise. Even the palace maids around him would give Luo Xiuyuan an extra piece of dessert. Shen Jiaminghuan, who was famous in the capital, only treated Luo Xiuyuan differently.

But why? What's so good about Luo Xiuyuan? He is just a poor guy who is not loved by his father!

He wanted to prove to the world that what Luo Xiuyuan can do, he Luo Xiuqi can do too.

Luo Xiuqi snorted coldly and asked Lu Ren, "How is the task I asked you to do going?"

"It's all done." Lu Ren said, "I have arranged people to spread the news that Shen Che has surrendered to His Highness. Now even the peddlers know about it."

"You've done it very well." Luo Xiuqi laughed.

How can it be so easy to be an undercover agent? Shen Minghuan, Shen Minghuan, you'd better surrender sincerely!

*

Shen Minghuan walked into the room without any hesitation and greeted him politely, "Meet His Highness the Crown Prince."

Luo Xiuyuan paused slightly. He didn't expect Shen Minghuan's face to be so calm, as if it wasn't this person who hoarsely said that he wanted to sever his ties with his royal family that day.

"...Master Shen, have you forgotten that I'm no longer the Crown Prince." Luo Xiuyuan felt as if he had been reminding others of this. It was obviously he who was deposed, but he was the first to accept the fact.

He was not used to talking to Shen Minghuan so distantly, so his tone was slightly unnatural.

Shen Minghuan raised his eyebrows and said casually, "Oh, I'm used to it."

Luo Xiuyuan suddenly couldn't help but smile softly.

He looked at Shen Minghuan's constant fanning action and whispered "sorry". He had never stopped taking the medicine in the past few days and had long been accustomed to the taste.

Luo Xiuyuan ordered Chang Mao to put out the fire in the small kitchen next door, and then open all the windows and doors in the room.

Anyway, the two of them couldn't tell any confidential things, and no one would come to this dilapidated place, so there was no need to be so careful.

"Your Highness." Chang Mao didn't move.

Not to mention that the medicine had to be taken on time, and once the fire was extinguished, the medicine would be ruined. These medicinal materials were trivial to the prince, but they were rare to King Ling.

In a place like Yanling where people are judged by their status, if you lose the emperor's favor and have no power, even a cowherd can bully you.

Chang Mao was about to speak up to dissuade him, but he was afraid that Shen Minghuan would see a joke and think that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was not strict with his subordinates, so his expression was a little embarrassed.

Luo Xiuyuan showed a bit of seriousness, "Go quickly."

"Why go? A patient should act like a patient." Shen Minghuan chuckled, closed his folding fan and wanted to knock on Luo Xiuyuan's forehead, but he caught a glimpse of Chang Mao's alert and vigilant expression.

So he turned his wrist and opened the folding fan again, "You are so old, can't you even take care of yourself, Your Highness?"

The ending tone rose, which easily gave people the illusion that they were being cared for.

Luo Xiuyuan suddenly felt sour in his heart, "Minghuan, you are really unreasonable. You are the one who dislikes the pungent smell, and you are also the one who disagrees."

Isn't it unreasonable? Obviously, he broke off relations with him so decisively, but he was so worried about him.

Luo Xiuyuan waved his hand and asked Chang Mao to leave, and did not ask him to put out the fire for boiling medicine.

Chang Mao breathed a sigh of relief, clasped his fists and saluted, looked at Shen Minghuan with complicated eyes, lowered his head and stepped back.

Shen Mingze didn't notice, he was looking around, and pulled out a chair from the table.

Then his eyes paused, put the folding fan back into his sleeve, and took out a snow-white handkerchief from his sleeve.

—— I don't know how many things he hid in his sleeve.

Luo Xiuyuan looked at him and didn't know whether to laugh or cry as he carefully wiped the chair from top to bottom, and said helplessly: "Not really, Minghuan, this is just cleaned."

No matter what, his room shouldn't be without a clean chair to sit on.

"Yeah." Shen Minghuan responded perfunctorily, but his hands were honest. When he finally nodded at his achievements with satisfaction, he casually put the still snow-white handkerchief on the table and sat down leisurely.

[Host, I didn't expect you to wipe the chair. ]The system sincerely admired, as if seeing a three-month-old baby suddenly crawl up and cook a full banquet.

Shen Minghuan couldn't believe it: [What makes you feel that I can't do this kind of thing with hands? ]

[……]The system really wants to go back a minute and uninstall its voice system! But who makes Shen Minghuan the ancestor it needs to hold in high esteem? The system took a deep breath, [I just think it's not right, host, you don't look like someone who would do this kind of thing. ]

[That's right, in the past, I didn't need to do this kind of thing myself. ]His people are much more meticulous and patient than him, and they can always arrange all aspects of his life before him.

Shen Minghuan said slowly: [So, Xiaojiu, do you know how much I have sacrificed for you? ]

[……]